A Cautionary Tale

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Another Date set in the ongoing court battle

Is the End in Sight for South African Businessman After 9-year Battle Against Equatorial Guinea’s Tyrannical Vice President?
On November 19, 2024, the Supreme Court of Appeal will hear Obiang's petition against the refusal of a Full Bench of the Cape High Court to rescind Judge Slingers' judgment in December 2021, wherein leave was refused to allow Obiang to appeal the judgment of Judge Lekhuleni awarding Daniel R39,882,000 in damages against the West African politician.

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In the latest development, marking a pivotal moment in this high-profile case, the stand-off is set to reach a critical juncture as the Supreme Court convenes later this month in a case that has been widely publicised across the world, drawing outrage at the playboy “president in waiting’s” flamboyant jet-set lifestyle and flagrant abuse of power, while the population of this small but wealthy country suffer severe hardship and misery with most living below the poverty line.

“I have absolute faith in the judicial system and know that the judges hearing this latest appeal will quickly realise that this is yet another stalling tactic by Teodorin Obiang to avoid settling my award. Meanwhile, two innocent South African men are suffering under horrific conditions in prison in Equatorial Guinea in what is clearly seen as retaliation for my having seized Obiang’s Superyacht, the “Blue Shadow” in February 2023,” said Daniel.

“I believe that justice will prevail, and I will finally be able to move on with my life and that the two men, who were inadvertently caught up in this drama, are released to be reunited with their families,” he added.

Teodorin Obiang, (who refers to himself Teddy and frequently flaunts his playboy lifestyle on Instagram and X), has been besieged with litigation from countries around the world, facing criminal charges of corruption, embezzlement and money laundering in the United States, France, Switzerland, Belgium, and Spain. The dispute between Obiang and the French Government ended up in the International Court of Justice, the highest court in the world. In February 2020, the seizure of Obiang’s multi million Euro Paris residence was confirmed, rejecting the claim that the building was immune from judgment under diplomatic immunity. In addition, the highest court in France, upheld Obiang’s embezzlement conviction and he was sentenced in absentia to three years imprisonment and assets totalling 150 million Euros (Rand 2.85 billion) were confiscated.

DANIEL VAN RENSBURG vs OBIANG LITIGATION TIMELINE
In 2012, the South African businessman was tasked by Obiang’s uncle, Gabriel Mba Bela Angabi, to establish an airline in Equatorial Guinea. Having worked in aviation in the region before, he was aware of the country’s poor airline safety record but despite his initial misgivings, Daniel accepted the contract and set about acquiring aircraft, addressing compliance issues, and hiring management, sales, and logistics staff to run the airline which was to be known as Coriscair.

In 2013, confident that everything was in place and compliant with international guidelines, Daniel flew to Malabo for what he expected to be the champagne launch of Coriscair, but at a breakfast meeting he was met by a recalcitrant Angabi who informed Daniel that he was cancelling the project with immediate effect. Daniel was shocked and confused, and repeatedly queried Angabi’s reasons for such a drastic decision. However, tyrants in Equatorial Guinea are not accustomed to having their actions questioned and enraged by Daniel's temerity, Angabi immediately made a telephone call, speaking briefly in Fang, the local dialect.

Within 30 minutes, Obiang’s Rapid Intervention Force troops arrived, and Daniel was handcuffed and forcibly removed from the residence at gunpoint. He was thrown into Black Beach Prison, one of the world’s most notorious prisons where for 423 days he was subjected to persistent torture and malnutrition, contracting dysentery, malaria, and typhoid, with no medical assistance provided by the authorities and ultimately causing irreparable damage to his mind and body.

“Surviving just one day in that place is a miracle and after 423 days behind bars when I finally walked free; I was no longer the same man. The damage to my body and mind irreversible, my ability to work or earn a living was taken from me. My family has suffered immeasurably, and we are forced to live on charity and handouts”, said Daniel.

In September 2015, Daniel was finally released from the hell he’d endured, returning to South Africa where he was met by Victor Rambau, the former South African Ambassador to Equatorial Guinea and an excited crowd who were overjoyed to welcome him back. Determined to seek justice for his suffering, Daniel commenced legal proceedings against Vice President Teodorin Obiang who, as Minister of State Security and Prisons in his father’s government, was ultimately held responsible for the South African businessman’s illegal incarceration.

In 2016, as part of this process, Daniel’s legal representatives attached two Cape Town properties owned by Obiang: a mansion in Bishopscourt and a bungalow on Clifton Beach, unaware that some years later as the case dragged on, that, in a malicious act of revenge, two innocent South African engineers would be arrested and held in prison in Equatorial Guinea as hostages against release of these two properties.

Despite multiple challenges by Obiang, including appeals to the Constitutional Court, the attachment of the two properties was upheld and the main trial commenced. In March 2021, the quantum hearing took place, and in June, Judge Lekhuleni ordered Obiang to pay Daniel R39,882,000.00 in damages. Daniel proceeded to execute against the judgment and the Sheriff seized and sold the contents of Obiang’s two properties which have subsequently not been maintained at all and have fallen into disrepair.

BLUE SHADOW AND THE TWO SOUTH AFRICAN ENGINEERS
In 2023, Obiang’s application to have the judgment against him rescinded was dismissed by the full bench of The Cape High Court and consequently, on February 7, 2023, the Sheriff of the Court seized Obiang’s luxury superyacht “Blue Shadow” in execution of Daniel’s judgment. Obiang retaliated two days later by orchestrating the arrest of the South African engineers employed by the Dutch based Oil and Gas Contractors SBM OFFSHORE. Frederik Potgieter and Peter Huxham faced trumped up drug charges and were thrown into Black Beach Prison and later faced a kangaroo court where they were sentenced to 12 years imprisonment each and a fine of $10 Million.

SA GOVERNMENT ATTEMPTS TO RESOLVE THE MATTER THROUGH DIPLOMATIC CHANNELS.
Efforts by the Department of International Relations to intervene have been fruitless, culminating in an unsuccessful attempt by Naledi Pandor, former Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, who visited Equatorial Guinea on May 5, 2024, in an endeavour to secure the release of the two men.

On July 1, 2024, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions submitted a report stating that, inter alia, “The deprivation of liberty of Mr. Huxham and Mr. Potgieter, being in contravention of articles 3, 9, 10 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is arbitrary”.

On October 22, 2024, The South African Parliament condemned the “unlawful imprisonment” of the two South African engineers and called on the South African Government to facilitate their release.

Potgieter and Huxham remain caught in the political crossfire between South Africa and Equatorial Guinea over Obiang’s determination to hold the men hostage against the release of his two Cape Town properties which are being held by Daniel as security for payment of the judgment awarded to him. It is clear that the two SBM Offshore employees were arrested in retaliation for Daniel’s legal team having seized the 70-metre luxury yacht “Blue Shadow”, (one of three Super Yachts owned by Vice President Obiang), while it was moored in Cape Town. Despite the subsequent release of the vessel, Vice President Obiang continues to detain the two South Africans, holding them hostage against the surrender by Daniel of the Vice President’s two Cape Town properties.

IT’S TIME FOR DICTATORS TO FACE JUSTICE
“The world must act against tyrants such as Teodorin Obiang, whose abuse of power has been widely documented and challenged in courts across the world,” said Daniel.

“I faced charges relating to my 2013 business dealings with a close member of the Obiang Presidential family and was declared innocent by the court in Equatorial Guinea. I was free to go! Instead, I was abducted by Vice President Obiang’s “Rapid Intervention Force” and thrown into Black Beach prison.”

“During this time, I was denied contact with lawyers, my loved ones, as well as representatives of the South African government, even though I had not been convicted of having committed any crime. The evidence I have provided, was incorporated into a book in which I describe my horrific ordeal in Black Beach prison in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea,” he added. “The political elite in Equatorial Guinea disregard human rights and the law, using their positions of power to strike back against those that get in their way,” he added.

The upcoming hearing on November 19, 2024, will be a decisive moment, highlighting the ongoing struggle for justice and human rights and potentially bringing closure to a nine-year ordeal for Daniel Janse van Rensburg. Unfortunately, the fate of Peter Huxham and Frik Potgieter remains in the hands of Vice President Obiang.

It is hoped that his father, The President, will intervene and bow to international pressure, understanding the benefits to his country in releasing the two hostages who were unwittingly caught up in the struggle over his son’s Cape Town properties. Despite several requests by South Africa for proof of life, the fate and welfare of Peter Huxham and Frederik Potgieter is currently unknown and requests to gain access to see them have been ignored by Equatorial Guinea. Further punishment no doubt levied by Vice President Teodorin Obiang.

CONTACT DETAILS
DANIEL JANSE VAN RENSBURG
danielwestafrica@gmail.com
+27 72 246 5144

Two SA men appear in Malabo Court

Breaking News!

The two men currently being held on alleged drug trafficking charges in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea finally appeared in court and have been remanded in custody pending an appeal of their USD5million fine and twelve year sentence.

As I am not aware of all the facts, I cannot comment on the court case or verdict, but I am relieved to see that both men look healthy considering their recent arrest and detention.

In my case, I was illegally detained and denied access to legal representation whereas they have been officially tried in court and, from my experience living in Black Beach with others accused of similar crimes, it seems that the sentence for the two men reflects the severity of their alleged crimes and would not be considered unusual if they were in fact guilty.

However, I believe that they are being held on trumped up charges and doubt that they’ve been given a reasonable and fair opportunity to plead their case or prove their innocence.

Being 'official' prisoners could ensure better treatment for the men and with any luck they will be permitted to have contact with their loved ones as well as their legal representatives and the SA Embassy.

Their situation is a chilling reminder of what I experienced during my unlawful imprisonment at Black Beach, and we have kept the men and their loved ones in our prayers, always hopeful for a positive outcome, and that they are reunited with their family in South Africa soon.

Daniel Janse van Rensburg

Black Beach Hell - Carte Blanche TV on YOUtube

CAPE TALK - Lunch with Pippa Hudson

Lunch with Pippa Hudson.

Interview starts at 1.15 minutes into recording.

Catch up with Carte Blanche producer Annalise Lubbe for the back story on why two South African men have been arrested in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

Is it related to the ongoing case between Daniel Janse van Rensburg, a South African businessman who was illegally detained at Black Beach prison in Malabo and the Vice President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodorin Nguema Obiang?

Annalise unpacks the story - listen to her interview on Cape Talk

A Cautionary Tale

A cautionary tale for South Africans doing business in Africa
Review: Muriel Hau Yoon

Black Beach, by Daniel Janse van Rensburg and Tracey Pharoah (Penguin Random House SA)
This is by no means your average survival tale of some gung-ho testosterone-loaded Rambo-type who endured months of gut-wrenching confinement in a hell-hole prison for some illicit arms deal or failed coup.

Rather, this is the true story of Daniel Janse van Rensburg from Hoekwil, near George – a regular, honest-to-goodness, South African husband, father and son, who gets swallowed up in a Machiavellian maelstrom when a legitimate business deal with a well-connected local tycoon in Equatorial Guinea goes horribly wrong.

Read the Full Story

Review: Muriel Hau Yoon

A cautionary take for South Africans doing business in Africa
Posted On : November 20, 2022 Published By : BKV Editor 3
Black Beach, by Daniel Janse van Rensburg and Tracey Pharoah (Penguin Random House SA)

This is by no means your average survival tale of some gung-ho testosterone-loaded Rambo-type who endured months of gut-wrenching confinement in a hell-hole prison for some illicit arms deal or failed coup.

Rather, this is the true story of Daniel Janse van Rensburg from Hoekwil, near George – a regular, honest-to-goodness, South African husband, father and son, who gets swallowed up in a Machiavellian maelstrom when a legitimate business deal with a well-connected local tycoon in Equatorial Guinea goes horribly wrong.

Janse van Rensburg’s nightmare begins on a sunny day in October 2013, in the capital Malabo, on Bioko Island. He is finalising a new airline deal with Gabriel Angabi, whom he has known since 2001. A former mayor of Malabo, Angabi is also a brother-in-law to the President’s number-one wife.

Without warning or explanation, Angabi explodes into a vituperative rage and reneges on their signed and sealed contract, demanding the immediate return of $600 000. One can’t help wondering whether this mercurial behaviour has something to do with the local belief system which is fraught with voodoo and black magic – a fertile breeding ground for paranoia and witch hunts.

Or perhaps the seeds of distrust had already been scattered nine years earlier, when mercenaries Nick du Toit and Simon Mann were arrested and thrown into Black Beach prison in 2004 following a failed coup attempt against Obiang.

At the time, Janse van Rensburg was working in Malabo and was briefly detained but released after they discovered he had no ties to the soldiers of fortune. However the plot soured relations between the political elite and foreign businessmen.

What came after that fateful day in October 2013, is an inexorable descent into a hell of unspeakable depravity. Janse van Rensburg is flung into Black Beach prison, also known as the “Auschwitz of Africa”. There he survives cerebral malaria, gang assaults and police brutality. As the only “blanco” in the prison, he is targeted by thugs and thieves. Angabi is clearly hell-bent on breaking his spirit and inflicting as much sadistic torture as possible without killing him.

READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE:
https://bookartville.com/a-cautionary-take-for-south-africans-doing-business-in-africa/